1. Technical Field
The technical field of the invention comprises methods and systems for determining whether workers or job candidate are or can be compatible with a particular or any job within a company or group of companies, and vice versa. More specifically, the technical field of the invention comprises a combination of utilities providing for an elemental analysis of a job's functions and requirements, use of the elemental analysis to provide for an employee to return to work after an injury or to provide for specific needs of an employee, use of information regarding a job and injuries reported by employees to create a risk assessment for determining the specific risks of a job at an elemental level, and use of the risk assessment for modifying a job's functions and requirements.
2. Related Art
A major segment of the healthcare industry is comprised of costs associated with workers' compensation, return to work and with determining whether a particular worker is physically or medically suitable for a particular job, and vice versa. Although these include the costs of medical benefits, lost wages benefit payments, premium payments for insurance, and payments made under insurance deductibles, an overarching cost is the time out of work. Another overarching cost is additional time out of work if the worker is re-injured or loses motivation to return to work after returning to work in the previous job, or in a poorly researched substitute job.
Current models of data flow for dealing with worker injuries, return to work, and job placement attempt to link the parties involved in the management of a claim, specifically, the worker (which term includes workers, disabled workers, and job candidates, and other workers, depending on the situation), company supervisor, claims administrator, physician, and ancillary personnel. The mode of transmission is generally via mail, telephone, fax, or, more recently, email. Data is critical for decision-making, which is often sequentially dependent. Problems with the current form of data transmission include the transmission of inaccurate or incomplete information, which may lead to slow and improper disposition of medical care, increased administrative efforts from delays and duplication of tasks, delayed state reporting, bottlenecks in the decision-making process such as delays in authorization of treatments, and a subsequent inability to return the worker to his or her previous job. Often, given the fragmentation of information management, this bottleneck may go unrecognized for periods of time.
Problems with inefficient data flow lead directly to increased expenses including an increase in weekly benefits and administrative costs from delays in returning the worker to work; duplicated tasks, such as inputting or reporting information multiple times; increased administrative and medical costs resulting from repeated or incorrect diagnoses and procedures; fines for delayed state reporting and inappropriate benefit administration; compromised claims management; increased costs due to a decrease in workplace productivity; and increased costs in replacing the worker or in hiring a temporary worker.
One of the largest expenditures in worker's compensation relates to weekly benefits, or “lost time payments” which are generally two-thirds of the workers' salary. A significant cause of extended lost time relates to the employer's lack of available modified duty jobs, and the treating physician's and claims administrator's lack of knowledge of the worker's current job requirements and the alternative positions available to the worker at the employer for his return to a suitable position with his employer. Without such job knowledge physicians will routinely recommend that the worker remain out of work as they generally rely solely on the patient's description of their job duties and assessment of their ability to return to work.
From the employer's perspective, in addition to the hard, quantifiable costs associated with the payment of weekly benefits, the lost time of out-of-work workers results in many soft costs associated with loss of productivity, and those relating to overtime wages paid to co-workers to maintain production schedules, hiring of replacement workers, morale issues for fellow employees, less efficient utilization of skilled workers and a multitude of other potential ramifications, mostly historically non-quantifiable. The worker on the other hand may experience problems related to decreased morale, perceived job insecurity, lower income, and a delay in receipt of other crucial financial benefits due to slow communication.
Often employers will have predetermined modified light duty jobs available for workers. These jobs are sometimes the equivalent of “painting rocks.” These are jobs designed to be minimally productive while the worker recuperates, and are often viewed as “punishment” by the worker for being hurt. These “punishment” jobs are not allowed by many states. The only way to truly provide a meaningful modified job is to be able to analyze the physician-imposed restrictions with the worker's current job and all other jobs available at the employer. These problems along with the extended and unwarranted time out of work may lead to increased litigation because the worker feels he is being treated unfairly. In addition, it is historically documented that the longer an worker remains out of work, the less likely they are to return to work as a productive employee of the employer. If the treating physician does not have sufficient information available to determine return to work suitability, often his only recourse is to recommend that the worker remain out of work until the next scheduled appointment.
Central to the management of work-related injuries is the imposition of medical restrictions by a physician. This is to allow healing of the injury without further exacerbation. However, these restrictions often keep the worker from returning to meaningful employment that potentially may be available that does not exacerbate the injury or delay the healing process. This can result from the lack of available modified jobs and/or the treating physician's and claims administrator's lack of knowledge regarding the worker's current job, or possible alternative positions available at the employer. This may lead to increased expenses including lost time resulting in increased weekly benefit payments to the worker; loss of productivity, caused by unskilled replacement workers, poor morale among co-workers, loss of experienced personnel, etcetera; and overtime wages or hiring of replacement employees.
The worker, on the other hand, may experience dissatisfaction with being out of work and, perceive job insecurity and diminished morale. This discontent, compounded by lack of timely medical care and delays in benefit payments, may contribute to an increased desire to pursue litigation. Significant problems by claimants may include: reduction in income; the perception of inadequate medical care; job insecurity; and diminished morale and loyalty to the company over the prospect of his ability to return to work at his employer.
Attempts have been made to address both problems but with only limited success. A comprehensive solution is needed which requires a significant shift in the approach and in the management tools and methods of addressing work related injuries. In order to maximize cost savings to employers, and to provide the most effective medical treatment to workers, a system that provides “real-time” intervention is the ultimate goal.